Improvement in fences



4 tion of the foot-post and base.

UNITED STATES PATENT Orrron.

/ THOMAS HARDING, or LA FAYETTE, INDIANA.

IMPROVEMENT IN FENCES.

. Specification formin g part of Letters Patent No. 170,850, datedDecember 7, 1875; application filed October 23, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THoMAs HARDING, of La Fayette, in the county ofTippecanoe and State of Indiana, have invented anew and usefulImprovement in Fences; and I do hereby declare the following to beafull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a perspectiveelevation of my fence. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, partly insection. Fig. 3 is a sectional eleva' My invention relates to the methodof constructing an iron fence, and also to the footpost which supportsthe main post; and it consists, first, in pickets. constructed withbosses or enlargements at regular and proper intervals, arranged toretain the said pickets in place, and to dispense with the usualriveting, whereby the picket is permitted to extend below the lowerrail, and to thesurface of the ground, when desired; second, in the formand construction of the foot-postwhich supports the main post.

That others may fully understand my invention, I will particularlydescribe it.

A A are the principal posts, constructed of cast or wrought metal, asmay be preferred. B B are the rails, perforated, as usual, for thereception of the pickets G G. The rails B may be attached to the posts Aby means of the angle-iron D, or by other means, as may be preferred.The lower rail may be made of angle-iron, if preferred. The pickets Oare straight rods, of iron, pointed or ornamented at the top. Each ofsaid pickets is formed with two enlargements or bosses, a a, one beneaththe top rail and the other above the bottom or center rail, as may bepreferred, and said pickets are thereby prevented from moving when therails have been secured to the posts: If intermediate short pickets E Eare employed a third or middle rail is used, and the bosses at, of longpickets, being above said middle rail, and those of the-short picketsbelow the same, said rail is held in place by the pickets, and theseveral parts of the panel are made to afford mutual support.

By constructing. the fence with pickets havingbosses, as abovedescribed, there is no necessity for riveting the pickets to the lowerrail, and thereby leaving an open space beneath said rail for the wholelength of the panel, through which small animals may come, but thepickets may extend to the ground, as shown.' Moreover, the panel issecured by the bolts which connect the rails to the post, and if, forany cause, it is desirable to remove a post of the fence it may beeasily accomplished by the'removal of said bolts, and whenso removedfrom the posts the pickets and rails may be entirely separated. This isan advantage of great value, as the fence may be constructed and fittedat the manufacturing shop, but not secured together until it arrivesupon the ground, where it is to remain permanently, instead of requiringto be transported in finished panels, as heretofore.

The bosses a may be formed in a variety of ways well-known in the art,but I prefer to construct them by upsetting the metal of the picket-rod,and for that purpose I have devised a machine which will form thesubject of a separate application for Letters Patent.

The posts A may be set in base-blocksior supports of any suitable kind,but I prefer a metallic chair, G, formed with a flat plate in the shapeof an inverted V, the horizontal plate 9 forming the base upon which thechair rests. At the apex there is a'tubular socket or sleeve, 1),through which the post A passes, and upon the upper side of thebase-plate g, where is a socket-step, h, to receive and hold the foot ofsaid post. The manner of attaching the post to the chair may, however,be considerably varied.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new is-- g l. A metallicfence-picket, with enlargements or bosses a a, formed by upsetting themetal of the picket, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination with metal pickets G, provided with bosses orenlargements a a, as

described, the perforated rails B B upon the upper and lower sides ofsaid bosses, respectively, and the posts A, to which the ends of saidrails are secured to form a metallic fence, as set forth.

THOMAS HARDING.

Witnesses ALEXANDER A. Bron, EDWARD BEAoH.

